NBC announced it will air a spinoff of its Emmy-winning comedy “The Office” and a new version of its 1980s talking car hit “Knight Rider” next season, while the groundbreaking medical drama “ER” will air for a 15th and final season.

The untitled spinoff to “The Office” will premiere the night NBC’s telecast of Super Bowl XLIII. An episode of “The Office” will immediately follow Super Bowl XLIII, with the spinoff following.

NBC provided few details about the spinoff, other than it will be produced by Greg Daniels, the executive producer of “The Office” and it “will follow another comic journey, complete with new faces and new locations, but with the same unique sense of humor and brand of quality from Daniels and his creative team.”

Series not returning include the highly promoted revival of “Bionic Woman,” “Las Vegas,” the first-year drama “Journeyman” and the game shows “1 vs. 100” and “Amnesia.” Producers had announced before the start of the season that the comedy “Scrubs” would end its seven-season run this season.

Of the four new series — all dramas — NBC introduced last fall, “Chuck” and “Life” will return for second seasons, as will the drama “Lipstick Jungle,” which premiered at midseason.

NBC will introduce three dramas, “Knight Rider,” “My Own Worst Enemy” and “Crusoe” this fall, along with the comedy “Kath & Kim.”

“Knight Rider” likely earned a spot on the NBC schedule when its “backdoor pilot” Feb. 17 was the most-watched made-for-television movie among viewers ages 18-49 — the group advertisers covet and NBC, ABC and Fox Broadcasting target — since ABC’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” on March 6, 2005. The new version will star Justin Bruening and feature a Ford Mustang instead of a Pontiac Trans Am.

“My Own Worst Enemy” stars Christian Slater as a middle-class efficiency expert living in the suburbs who is also a spy.

“Crusoe” is based on the legendary novel “Robinson Crusoe,” about a man shipwrecked on a remote tropical island.

“Kath & Kim,” is an adaptation of a hit Australian comedy that will star “Saturday Night Live” alumna Molly Shannon as a cheerful divorcee in her 40s and Selma Blair as her self-absorbed daughter.

NBC also announced that it will air three episodes of what it has dubbed “SNL Thursday Night Live,” in October, a live half-hour of comedy related to the presidential election.

Programs set to premiere midseason include the dramas “Kings,” starring Ian McShane as the ruler of a modern metropolis under siege; “Merlin,” set in Camelot “but inspired by 21st century storytelling”; and “The Philanthropist,” about a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth and power to help people in need.

The dramas “Friday Night Lights” and “Law & Order” will begin their new seasons on NBC in midseason. However, the 13 third-season “Friday Night Lights” episodes will initially be shown on DirecTV’s entertainment channel, The 101, beginning in October.

NBC announced its programming plans about six weeks earlier than the other networks because of changes in the media marketplace and of advertisers’ needs, according to Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

“The business is changing rapidly and our clients expect us to stay a step ahead of that change, so we’re giving them the chance now to partner wish us, start integrating with our shows from the very beginning and map out their strategies a full year into the future,” Graboff said.

As the first of the five major networks to release its fall schedule, the lineup NBC announced today could just be a rough draft. Changes are traditionally made as a result of moves by competitors.

Although NBC remains mired in fourth place among total viewers, it is tied for third among viewers ages 18 to 49 with CBS, and one-tenth of a percentage point behind second-place ABC. However, ABC is expected to widen its margin by the time the season ends thanks to the return of original episodes of its hit soapy dramas “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives” and the continuation of the competition series “Dancing with the Stars.”

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